Indoor track gains popularity, success at South Burlington

Dec. 16, 2010

Lindsay Geier (from right), Mollie Gribbin and Amanda Arena are three of the leading girls on the South Burlington High School indoor team, a squad which has state title aspirations after a recent numbers spike. / BEN SARLE, for the Free Press

Varsity Insider blog

SOUTH BURLINGTON — Lindsay Geier was a key defender during the South Burlington High School girls soccer team’s run to the Division I title in November.

Ashley McDonald and Becca Bowser were leaders on a Rebels field hockey team that powered to a undefeated championship campaign. All-State football standouts Connor DeVarney and Kareem Hines have also joined.

The holdovers from South Burlington’s highly successful fall sports season are now aiming to bolster a rising winter program: indoor track.

“I’ve been told I was fast ... by a lot of people,” said Geier, a sophomore likely to focus on the sprinting events. “I wanted to stay in shape and it’s just another opportunity to become closer to people you don’t usually get a chance to meet or play a sport with.

“It’s become a lot more popular,” Geier added.

More than a tenth of the students at the high school are participating on the indoor track team, head coach Geoff Bennett said. A total of 104 athletes — 54 girls, 50 boys — are on the roster.

“It’s slowly becoming the sport of choice at the school. A lot of people are coming out to get in shape for the spring,” said Bennett of a program that has nearly doubled in numbers from last year. “I think it’s been slowly growing each year ... but this year, it’s been nuts.”

South Burlington’s mob mentality has also produced success: the boys team tied Essex last season for its first state title. The girls could be next.

A team that finished a program-best fourth at last season’s state championships, the Rebel girls have a core group of returnees — and a swell of talented athletes from other sports like Geier, McDonald and Bowser — to make a title run this winter.

Not to mention Mollie Gribbin, a three-time individual champion a season ago, is officially in the fold. Gribbin trained with the team as an independent until enrolling at South Burlington shortly before the spring track season.

“We are going after the state championship,” said Gribbin, last year’s champion in the 55-meter dash, 300 and long jump.

To do so, the Rebels will need contributions from experienced runners like Sarah Hackett (1,600 and 3,200) and Qianyue Liu (1,600 and 3,200), Carly Stine (hurdles and high jump), Ellie Miner (55) and Amanda Arena (55 and 300) — just to name a few.

“I know we have so many hopes on the girls team, especially with Mollie on it,” Arena said.

Outdoor workouts in wintry conditions and additional drills and running in the now crowded hallways has been a team-building exercise.

“The camaraderie is awesome. Everyone is high-fiving after workouts, it’s really good,” said Hackett, one of the team captains.